Tuscaloosa Police Will Continue Issuing Citations to Uber Drivers

The Tuscaloosa police department says that it has already issued citation warnings to unlicensed drivers of ride-sharing apps such as Uber, but will soon be handing out criminal city citations.

A statement was posted to Facebook on Wednesday afternoon that detailed the operation that police are conducting on drivers that haven't gone through the appropriate steps to secure a taxi license.

From the TPD Facebook page:

The Tuscaloosa Police Department conducted an undercover operation last week in the evening hours on 9/11/14 and 9/12/14. The operation was focused on giving warning citations to drivers of ride sharing programs (unlicensed taxi drivers). Undercover officers used the Uber mobile app and requested pickup from a location and rode with the drivers to another location. A credit card was charged using the app to pay for the service. Officers rode with a total of eight Uber Drivers.

Uber launched in Tuscaloosa in August and provides users with an alternative means of transportation for local residents. People can access company-approved drivers through the app and arrange for pickup and drop-off through their phones.

Tuscaloosa has made it clear since Uber arrived that drivers would not be operating under local taxi requirements. This recent undercover operation makes it clear that the city is standing firm on its position.

With a huge Alabama football home game against Florida this weekend, demand is high for transportation services. But that doesn't mean that the police will be easing their enforcement. In fact, they said that these warnings will soon turn into criminal citations.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department will continue to do these operations until the drivers comply with the city requirements for a taxi services. We have been very lenient in the recent weeks making sure that everyone was aware of the requirements. In future operations officers will not be issuing warning citations and will be issuing criminal city citations to drivers who do not comply with city regulations.

We want to hear your opinion on this issue. Do you think that ride-sharing services, such as Uber, should be held to the same standard as taxi drivers?